KND Operation: MOTH
by darrelsam419
Summary: Both Darrel and Nigel have a phobia of moths and butterflies, but what happens when they end up having to fight an insane insect Scientist to save Sector V, and Rachel? Contains slight 1/362/OC, but please do read and review......
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own KND, it'll be cool if I did but unfortunately, I do not.**

**Warning: Contains a little 1/OCness, I'm really sorry for that.**

**And yes, I do have a phobia of moths and butterflies.**

KND:

Operation: MOTH

Part 1

It was a lovely day, not too sunny, not too cold……perfect for a day out at the park.

And there we were, at the park, enjoying the weather and enjoying ourselves. Green grass, freshened by last night's rain, surrounded us like a green ocean. A few trees stood in clumps here and there, and pathways wound like flat orange snakes across the grass while a few people could be seen taking walks or having family picnics on the fresh green grass.

I was seated on a white stone bench, the book I brought was laying on my lap, closed, for I was enjoying the gentle breeze and the lovely scenery more than it. Abigail Lincoln, or "Abby" as we called her, was seated beside me, with earphones plugged in her ears and an Ipod in her palm. She stared up into the distant skies, day-dreaming away. Kuki Sanban was seated at the very edge of the bench, beside Abby, swinging her legs up and down while humming some hauntingly familiar tune which I was sure I had heard once while watching an old Disney movie. She gazed at the three boys, _our_ three boys actually (although I promised Rachel that I would share Nigel between us). Nigel, Hoagie and Wally were playing ball, I'm not sure what ball game because it looked like a fusion of 'Poison-Ball' and soccer. Their yells and laughter echoed across the park as they tried to catch or dodge that bright red ball they were playing with.

Finally, probably because of exhaustion, they stopped playing and came back towards us, panting and laughing and pushing each other around, just like a bunch of playful school boys walking out of the school grounds after the dismissal bell. Hoagie Gilligan and Wally Beatles squashed themselves onto the stone bench, which was actually meant for not more than three people. Nigel Uno, seeing that there was no more space on the bench, simply leaned against the rough, dark brown trunk of a large, shady tree just behind us. There was silence for a while, except for Kuki's humming and distant voices of people and birds or insects. Then Nigel, who had been staring at the ground, at his brown shoes for a few moments, looked up and said to us, "You know what? I've just discovered something, a new theory……"

A chorus of groans arose from the five of us who were seated on the stone bench. Abby, who must have lowered the volume of the music that was booming out of her earphones, murmured in frustration, "Not another one of his theories again…."

Yeah, I admit, Nigel had a lot of crazy theories he loved to invent. They always made no sense and were at times even absurd. They were never true, well, at least most of the time. We have groaned and grumbled and yelled at him countless times, but he never listened, and continued creating nonsensical theories as if they were the pleasure of his life.

Nigel glared at us after our frustrated groans, and he begin, "This theory is about a certain insect, those horrible, gruesome creatures with eight legs….."

"Insects only have six legs." Murmured Hoagie boredly.

"Whatever! And anyway, this insect, or these two types of insects, may look gentle and frail, but actually they are vile, hungry creatures! Moths and butterflies….."

I suddenly let out a scream and almost fell off the bench, everyone stared at me while I stared at Nigel, stunned.

"Moths? Butterflies?" I uttered blankly, my eyes were wide open and I was sure all the color had gone from my face, "They…..they're the creatures I dread the most…..I can't look at one without screaming…..with their horrid wings with scary patterns! You're right about vile….."

"What's so scary about moths and butterflies? I think they're pretty….." said Kuki innocently.

"I…I…..I don't know….maybe I have a phobia of those things…..I have had quite a few bad experiences with them…."

It was true, I did have some awful and disturbing encounters with the moth and the butterfly, especially the moth. When I was just a toddler, my babysitter used to tell me that if I was naughty, the moth would come and catch me. Then, being born and raised in Asia, I was filled with old-wives stories about moths and butterflies being souls of dead people. The worse experience was when one flew into my clothes when I was seven……..you really should have heard me scream hysterically……

"I guess I also have a phobia of moths and butterflies, in fact, I think I have a phobia of every winged insect! But anyway….." Nigel cleared his throat, "Back to the topic, moths and butterflies are vile and hungry because….." a dramatic pause, and, "they absorb people's life-energy! When they land on you….although you don't know it…." He lowered his voice into a sinister hiss, "They are feeding on you….."

Abby slapped her palm against her forehead, Wally made a face of disgust, Kuki shook her head with a sigh and Hoagie rolled his eyes and gestured in frustration. Even I almost yelled, "NIGEL UNO, ARE YOU INSANE!?" at him. Goodness, how on earth did he come up with such ridiculous theories anyway? Even though I was terrified of moths and butterflies, and thought them to be gruesome, evil creatures, I didn't go as far as Nigel!

"NUMBUH 1!" all five of us yelled together in disgust.

"What!? It was just a theory! Probably a real one, anyway….."

"Ugh! How crazy can your cruddy theories get anyway?!" yelled Wally in anger, then he added in a lower voice, "And there's one of those 'vile, hungry creatures' right beside ya……"

Nigel turned to look at the tree bark beside him, suddenly he let out a yelp of terror and ran for his life. I turned in bewilderment……then I saw it……a large insect, about 15cm in length, with blackish brown wings patterned with white. It was the creature I dreaded the most…….the moth…..

I screamed at the top of my lungs and leaped up sky high as if the bench I was sitting on was on fire. Then I rushed towards where Nigel stood, and – I didn't know if I did this out of terror or on purpose – I flung my arms around him and gripped hold of him as tightly as I could. Nigel automatically put one arm around me.

Wally burst out laughing, Kuki and Hoagie begin laughing soon after, while Abby once again had her face in her palm. I could just hear Hoagie saying excitedly, "Ohh…..look over there…..Nigel and Darrel are hugging!"

"So cute!" squealed Kuki in delight. "Lovely couple they'll make, eh?" said Wally slyly.

Oh my goodness, I suddenly realized what I was doing, my face turned bright red, the color of ripe tomatoes, and I let go of Nigel hurriedly. Rachel is so going to kill me, I mummered to myself. Nigel's pale marble-colored cheeks turned pink and he tried to look as innocent as he possibly could, but with no avail…..

"Nigel and Darrel sittin' in a tree….." chanted Hoagie and Wally, I almost picked up a broken branch on the grass beside me to whack them and chase them all around the park, and I would have if Nigel's communicator hadn't suddenly rang. He reached into his pocket and fished it out, the pinkish blush quickly fading from his face. He spoke in low mummers to whoever it was on the communicator screen for a few seconds, then he looked up, his usual, stern, 'leader' look returning to his deep, blue eyes.

"We have a mission…."

It was lovely to be back in the tropical climate, where I was born and raised before my family moved to America. And it was even lovelier to be back in my home country Malaysia, with all its delicious food, varieties of traditions and interesting historical places. But right now, we were not here to go visiting around Malaysia, we were called here by the members of the Malaysian KND sector, Sector MY, or at least, the remaining members of Sector MY. Three of their members had been kidnapped by what Numbuh 256.7, or Ze-Yuen called 'strange brown bird-like creatures, they were quite small but very strong, and very vicious'. Numbuh 255.7, or Abdul, the leader of Sector MY who witnessed the event, said that 'those strange birds' had grabbed the members, Numbuh 254.7 (Yogawati), Numbuh 260.5 (Kanang Latai) and Numbuh 259.9 (Mei Nah) by their clothes and simply flew off with them, despite of their violent struggling and screaming.

We were here to investigate their disappearances, Rachel also tagged along because Nigel had promised her that she could follow us on missions if she was sick of being cooped up on the Moonbase. We were now searching through the alleys and crowded streets and little parks known as the 'city's green lungs' for any clues the strange kidnappers left behind. Our effort was fruitless, we achieved nothing…..

Finally, we were sweating and panting under the hot tropical sun and decided to stop for some icy desserts, known as 'ais kacang' and 'cendol'. But since Wally was allergic to coconut, which was used in both icy desserts for flavoring. Numbuh 258.7, Ming Sern, kindly went off to buy some ice-cream for him, and Rachel followed just to see more of Malaysia's 'mother-town', Kuala Lumpur. But….that was something she shouldn't have done…..

Because, soon after they were gone, we heard a horrible hair-raising scream that made our blood freeze. We dropped our desserts, literally, and ran towards the direction of the horrible sound. Already a crowd of curious passersby were gathered on a broad pavement just outside a huge, grand shopping mall, so we guessed that was where the scream had come from. Ming Sern was pushing his way out of the dense crowd, his face was as pale as the face of the Moon as he made his way towards us.

"Guys!" he cried out hoarsely, as if he did not have enough air to breath in. "Guys!!" he said again. Then he pointed upwards into the hazy sky, where the passersby all around us were gazing up at and yelling or gasping in horror. And we too stared at the sight in disbelief.

We saw, in that gray, hazy sky, a girl with shoulder-length bland hair, wearing a light blue T-shirt and tights, struggling violently and screaming at the top of her lungs. She was desperately trying to jerk herself away from some strange winged creatures, about seven or eight of them, that had grabbed hold of her clothing and were trying to fly off with her. They were carrying her not too far above our heads and I could just see that they looked like some kind of brown birds, with large wings and seemingly did not have any head. Although they were rather small, about 30 to 35 centimeters in width, they were apparently very strong and soon carried the girl, in spite of her thrashing, higher and higher and further and further away from us.

"Rachel!!" Both me and Nigel cried in dismay.

"Numbuh 362!!" shrieked the members of Sector MY in fright.

"What are those things?" yelled Hoagie.

"They're kidnapping her! Oh, crud!" shouted Wally.

"Oh…..someone stop them!" screamed Kuki, almost in tears.

"A tracker! Somebody get out a tracker and get in onto Rachel so we can track her down later!" commanded Abby.

Nigel was on his toes as soon as he heard Abby's bright idea, out from his pocket he snatched out a gadget that looked like a short, thin, metal straw with a handle and a tiny trigger at one end. He pulled the trigger and a minute, light-weight, spherical tracker flew out of the hole at the end of the gadget that was pointed away from him. It flew upwards towards Rachel and latched itself onto her tights as she was carried by those mysterious creatures further and further away into the distance. Finally, she was lost from sight behind the tall buildings and sky-scrappers that surrounded us.

It took a few minutes for us to get over the shock of seeing Rachel being whisked away just like that. And by the time we were able to speak, the crowd around us had become thinner as those passersby strolled away, minding their own business as usual.

Abdul spoke first, "Those were the things that kidnapped three of our team members. It looks like they, whatever they are, are still kidnapping people!"

"I tried to stop them and I tried to pull her down," said Ming Sern, his face was still pale and he spoke in pants. "But those things….they….they were too strong…."

"What did they look like?" asked Nigel.

"I…..I couldn't see, they moved too fast. But, they didn't really look like birds from up close….they looked like some kind of – I don't know – giant butterflies or something…."

"_Butterflies_?" said everyone, staring at him. Some said the word in astonishment, some said it in disgust, while some it skeptically and looked at him as if he had lost his mind. But, as for me and Nigel, we said it out of pure horror and fear.

"Erm….Ming Sern? Are you sure you're okay?" asked Numbuh 25.79, Muragam, reaching out his dark hnd towards Ming Sern's forehead, as if he wanted to test Ming Sern's temperature to see if he had any high fever that was affecting his brain.

"Yes, I'm fine! Stay away from me! I'm not sick!" yelled Ming Sern as he whacked Muragam's outstretched hand and sent Murugam into howls of pain. "I'm only saying what they looked like! And trust me, they really did look like giant butterflies!"

"Butterflies or not butterflies, we still have to save her!" said Abdul in a stern voice, the voice that all KND Sector leaders had. "So, how can we track her down, Numbuh 1?" he asked, turning to Nigel.

Nigel had just taken a gadget with a screen on it from his pocket and was tapping something on the buttons on the gadget. It was amazing to see how many things he managed to stuff into the two pockets of his pants. I was surprised that the bottom stitches of those pants never ripped and even more surprised that his pants never dropped because of the weight of his gadgets!

"There, I've tracked her down." Said Nigel, showing us the gadget that he held in his palm. On the greenish screen was a map of West Malaysia, a small red dot was flashing somewhere on the sweet potato shaped land of West Malaysia. "That's her position, and it looks like whatever that's kidnapped her is moving rather fast….."

"So come on! Let's go rescue her!" said Hoagie. The next moment everyone was rushing towards and squeezing into the C.O.O.L.B.U.S. that we came in. Since there were so many people, it took us quite a while to settle down and blast off towards wherever our Supreme Commander was……


	2. Part 2

**Part 2 of the story.**

**And yes, I _do_ think that Nigel is handsome, so bear with it.**

KND:

Operation: MOTH

Part 2

The air was hot and damp, and also filled with a variety of odors, some of them that made me feel ill after breathing them in. It was rather dark except for a few patches of daylight streaming down from the trees that were towering high above our heads. The only sounds we could hear were the beeping and creaking of insects, croaking of frogs and toads, occasional calls of birds and some weird noises of wild animals in the distance.

We were in the rainforest, or one of the rainforests, of West Malaysia. We were in a National Park somewhere in the Pahang state, where no logging or hunting was allowed. Apparently these 'giant butterflies' have taken Rachel deep into this rainforest, which was no surprise (to me, at least) since there are a wide variety of butterflies and moths living and breeding in these dense jungles. Although this is the first time I ever heard of those insects flying out to kidnap people, it sounded completely absurd to me!

We had to go on foot and leave our flying vehicle behind because we couldn't exactly bring the C.O.O.L.B.U.S. into the jungle nor would we be able to land it on the forest floor without destroying a few trees and plants, which was against the law. By now we had left the pathway for visitors of the National Park far behind and were venturing deeper and deeper into the jungle, with only Nigel's tracker to guide us. It was hot despite of all the trees that shaded us from the sun and I was sweating all over. The ground was covered with a layer of damp, half-rotten dead leaves as well as knobby tree roots that snaked their way across the forest floor. And, trust me, we were not having a fun time trekking through the thick rainforest with the heat and the smells and the jutting tree roots. I was wondering why in the world would people want to visit rainforests in the first place!

We saw quite a lot of fauna during or journey. We saw all kinds of birds in the trees and sometimes even chattering monkeys staring at us curiously. On very rare occasions we even saw a snake or two. But no animals made me (and Nigel) really take notice besides those that belong to the insect kingdom.

A big brown beetle crawling across a tree bark made me stop and stare at it in horror, before moving away from an ivy like plant because there was a large praying mantis squatting there. I remember leaping up with a shriek just because I saw a fierce-looking centipede making its way across the ground. And me and Nigel actually yelled because a huge brown moth (it seemed larger than any kind of moth I have ever seen, but it might only have been my imagination) was rested on a tree trunk right next to us.

"Oh come on! Will you two just quit your yelling!? It's just a moth!" Abby finally blurted out.

"Yeah, and Darrel, you ought to be ashamed of yourself! You lived in Malaysia, in the _tropics_, since you were young and you're afraid of insects?!" scolded Ze-Yuen suddenly.

"Well, I can't help having a phobia of winged insects, can I?" I answered indignantly.

"Oh, yes, you can! And you too, Numbuh 1! A leader like you afraid of insects? That's just ridiculous!" Ze-Yuen was working herself into a fine temper.

"As Darrel said, it's a phobia. And I cannot help having one of insects, Miss Dripped-With-Jewelry!" was Nigel's calm reply.

"What did you just call me!?" cried Ze-Yuen in fury.

"Numbuh 256.7, will you just be quiet so that we can continue our journey!?" said Abdul, who was obviously getting rather annoyed by Ze-Yuen.

"Don't you dare ask me to be quiet!" yelled Ze-Yuen in a shrill, hysterical voice of anger and frustration, looking as if she was about to fly at Abdul's neck in any second.

Just as a noisy commotion was beginning to build up, I suddenly felt something tugging at my left sleeve. I turned in surprise, then I let out a loud, ear-piercing scream of terror. There was a moth, a gigantic one with brown and black and grey patterns on its wings, _tugging_ at my sleeve! The horrifying thing was not only that it was strong enough to pull at my clothes, it was the sheer size of it that terrified me. It was at least 40cm in width, even bigger than the biggest species of moth in the world, and I could see all the disgusting features on its head as clearly as if I was looking at it through a magnifying glass!

Then, what happened next was so fast that we barely had time to think or to react. From out of nowhere a huge flock of giant moths and butterflies (I say 'flock' because those things were big enough to be birds) flew down towards us and begin grabbing hold of our clothes! There were screams and yells of terror and everyone was struggling and squirming like worms but those horrible, giant creatures gripped hold of us like steel traps. Another two moths grabbed hold of my right sleeve and my T-shirt collar and four butterflies gripped my jeans! I was screaming at the top of my lungs and trying to hit out at them but all my effort to escape was all in vain.

And then, the most horrible and terrifying thing happened. Those creatures, with a few flaps of their huge wings, lifted us clear off the forest floor and flew off with us! There were even more screams and even more struggling, but those monstrous insects simply flew on, using their six strong legs to carry us by our clothes. I was so terrified that I must have fainted in mid-air, because I can't exactly remember what the journey was like after that….

When I finally awoke, I found that something was wrapped tightly around me from my shoulders to my feet. I struggled and kicked, but that strange blanket like thing was too tight and too hard, it was almost rock solid. After some observation, I found that I was wrapped up in some kind of giant cocoon! I looked up and glanced around, and I was horrified to see all my friends and those members from Sector MY wrapped up in some more giant cocoons like human sushi! They were struggling and yelling like mad but those cocoons didn't even budge!

The giant cocoons were stuck against a wall, holding us in an upright position with our backs against the wall. We were in a large, spacious room, with gray metal ceiling, floor and walls. There were also other people wrapped up in cocoons in the room, some stuck to the floor, some stuck on the walls like us, and even some were hanging down from the ceiling! There was something weird about those people's faces, but I didn't give much thought about that. The only two openings in the room was a large sliding metal door and an air vent high on the wall, just below the ceiling and completely out of reach. Besides the cocoons stuck here and there, the room was apparently empty. The air was cool and still, and a strange, musty smell drifted around in the air.

The first question that went through my head was, of course, "Where are we?" and the second was, "What's going to happen to us?" My questions were soon answered when the huge metal door suddenly slid open with a loud roaring noise. I let out scream of terror, and the rest of them shrieked and yelled and squealed. At the door stood something horrible, something so frightening and disturbing that it looked like something out of the worst nightmare ever dreamt. It was a person, at least it looked like a person, whose head was the head of some kind of insect! It's eyes were huge black balls and it had short hair sticking out of its entire head. A long, black tube-like thing protruded out of its mouth, and curled into a tight spiral just above the mouth. Two long, black antennas stuck out of its head. The person, or whatever it was, wore some kind of lab jacket that was stained with dirt and colorful patches (probably some kind of chemical stains) here and there. He wore long black pants and a pair of black shoes, also stained with dirt. A pair of gloves covered his hands, which was probably a good thing because his hands could have been as horrifying as his head. He walked over to us, raised his bug-head to look at us, and grinned wickedly.

"New guest, I see. Well, well……" he said in a perfectly normal human male voice, which surprised me as I expected him to growl and snarl or something.

The man (at least he _used_ to be one) clapped his hands three times, then, to our utmost horror and disgust, an entire flock of giant moths and butterflies, the same kind that had kidnapped us, came streaming in through the doorway and landed on any surface in sight. Some landed on the wall next to me or on the cocoon I was wrapped in, I could have died of fright.

"Now, now my pets. There are enough of them for all of you, so take turns in feeding…." Said the insect-human person.

"Feeding?!" yelled Nigel in alarm, "What do you mean by _feeding_?!!"

The insect-human grinned nastily and said with a wicked laugh, "Oh don't worry, my boy, my giant butterflies will not _eat_ you! They are just going to suck to energy out of you, that's all…."

I grasped in fright, Nigel's theory was right (for once!) ….but……

"You see, they are not regular butterflies or moths you see fluttering around out there. These are mutant insects! Insects that I have been experimenting with, and one of those experiments have turned me into this…….." he gestured towards his ghastly insect head, "But no matter, this did allow me to be able to communicate to them. And they also respect me and listen to my orders….."

"But why are you keeping us here? And why do you want to suck the energy out of us?" asked Abdul, I could see that his face was pale with fright.

"And where is Rachel!?" yelled Nigel unexpectedly, his fear suddenly giving way to anger. I stared at him in shock, a sour feeling of jealousy bubbling up inside me. I always knew they both had 'something' for each other, but I could not help feeling rather envious at times.

"Rachel? You must mean that blond girl I picked up not too long ago. I used my mutant moths and butterflies to kidnap her, just as I did to you and to all these people that I have imprisoned here! Yes, they are such a useful help……."

Wally grew impatient, "Will you just stop your cruddy blabbering and tell us your cruddy plans, bug-eyes!" he yelled, struggling madly inside the cocoon around him.

The insect-human glared at Wally in fury, "You be quiet, you!" he shouted, shaking his gloved fist at Wally. "That's why I kidnap people to feed their energy to my pets! It is because of some horrible kids and people who hate insects! Why do you all hate these creatures? They are frail, weak creatures that do humans no harm! Especially butterflies and moths! I've seen kids whacking at them, disturbing them, destroying their caterpillar cocoons. And people who catch them to keep them to keep them, but let them die instead! They pin them down on boards just to admire the colors of their wings! They never even think about these poor insects' lives! So I, Dr. Drewmore, who now shall be known as Mothmaster, shall give those people a taste of their own medicine! I shall send my mutant butterflies and moths to kidnap them, then send them back to my lab with my private helicopter and allow my pets to feed upon their energy! I've only done it with Malaysian people (except you American Kids Next Door), but soon I will spread the terror of my mutant moths and butterflies all over the world! And then……and then……" he laughed wickedly.

It was long speech for him to make, but I wasn't surprised. I knew by experience in the KND that most of the villains I encountered loved to do that. I could now see why the faces of the other people trapped in those cocoons looked so strange, there was a enormous butterfly or moth on each of their faces! The wings of the insects spread over both sides of their faces and the insect's six legs were gripping hold of their chins and necks. Those horrible mutant creatures were sucking out the humans' life force! I could see a familiar girl with shoulder-length blond hair, trapped in a cocoon hanging down from the ceiling not too far away from us. Rachel. She stared at us out of terrified brown eyes. There was a large moth covering the bottom half of her face.

A giant moth suddenly flew out in front of me and latched itself onto my face, its six legs grabbed hold of my chin and neck and I felt it sticking its tube-like mouth into my mouth! I gave a muffled scream of fear but it was smoldered by that horrible creature that was grabbing hold of my face. The same thing was happening to the rest of my friends, they cried out and struggled but only succeeded in making those creatures grab on even tighter to their faces. Then, I begin to feel dizzy, and very sleepy, that awful creature was already beginning to suck the energy from my body….

Mothmaster (what a ridiculous name that was!) waved to the remaining mutant moths and butterflies and they all flew out like a colorful stream behind their master, except for those insects that were already latched upon our faces. Soon, the door slammed shut, and we were alone…..left alone to die!

I felt weaker and weaker, soon I was so weak that I could barely even move. But I saw Nigel, despite how weak he was, struggling hard within the cocoon that held him onto the wall. Suddenly, to my amazement, the cocoon split into two halves, the butterfly on him flew off in shock, and Nigel fell and landed on the ground in a crouching position. He squatted there for a while, recovering his strength, then he looked up at my cocoon, which was right beside his, lifted up his right hand which was holding a powerful KND laser, and shot at my cocoon.

I found myself falling, and I felt two strong arms catching hold of me just before I hit the ground. It was Nigel! How did he have the strength to carry me (and I can tell you I ain't lightweight!) I did not know, maybe he _did_ inherit some powers from his Grandfather after all! When he let me go, I slumped against the wall, trying to regain my strength. The moth that had been consuming my energy had flown off in shock.

Nigel lifted his arm once again to shoot the cocoon that was next to my broken one, but the butterfly who had been absorbing his energy suddenly flew down and snatched the laser out of his hand! It crashed against a wall and fell to pieces. The next moment the moth that had been sucking out my energy flew down towards us, ready to attack. Nigel immediately grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me towards the metal door.

He slid the heavy door open with all his strength, then, after pulling me towards through the door, he slammed it shut. We heard two loud "Bonk!"s as the two giant mutant insects crashed against the door, then all was silent.

We both sighed in relief. Nigel looked at me out of his icy dark blue eyes and said, "You're blushing, Darrel."

"Am not!" I said, "I'm just hot and flustered after all that running!"

"Are you sure? Or is it because I held your hand just now?" Nigel spoke in his usual calm, quiet voice, but I could just see a mischievous little grin on his lips.

"No!!" I cried indignantly, and was irritated to find that my cheeks were burning hot. Nigel gave me one of those seriously irresistible grins of his that was able to make almost any girl who had a crush on him drop dead (I almost did) and raised his eyebrow, as his sapphire eyes peeped out slyly at me from behind his trademark sunglasses. Why? Why did such an irresistible guy had to exist in this world?! I thought as I stared at him, feeling rather awkward and embarrass.

Nigel turned away from me and looked down the dark corridor that loomed before us. Hanging from the ceiling were lamps dangling from long wires that were set some distance away from each other, giving out only the tiniest fraction of yellow light, probably to prevent the mutant butterflies and moths from being attracted to them, since these insects loved flying as close as they could to any source of light, and were often killed because they flew too close to a flame.

Nigel looked back at me, "Come on, we'd better go find Mothmaster and stop him." He said, then he cringed, "Although how are we going to fight him with his army of hateful mutant insects, I have no idea."

"There _has_ to be a way to get rid of those awful insects, even though they're mutants, everything has its weaknesses." I said, quoting that straight out of a show I watched on the TV. Nigel nodded and took hold of my hand again.

"Erm……you…you don't mind me holding your hand, Darrel?" he asked suddenly.

"No…..I guess not….."

"Right then….let's go……"

Down the corridors we went, passing some metal doors not unlike the one in the 'cocoon room'. Little draughts blew at us now and then, but it was the fear and excitement welling up in me that sent shivers down my spine. The only warm feeling I felt was Nigel's hand in mine. There were strange smells drifting in the air, those smells were mostly sweet-smelling, but there was something in them that sometimes stung my eyes and made me feel rather dizzy.

Presently, we came to what looked like a large cavity in the wall. There was a thick wire mesh separating us from that huge hole in the wall that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. There was a dim yellow light, even dimmer than the ones that lighted up the corridor we were in, shining from the ceiling of that hole, and I could see some things fluttering about in there. They were moths, mutant moths, some as large as the ones that kidnapped us, but some were smaller. Most of them were fluttering around in the dim light but some were resting on the walls and even on the ceiling. In spite of the tinge of fear and horror I felt, curiosity took over me and I couldn't help stopping to stare at them. I felt Nigel pull at my hand but I didn't budge.

Suddenly, as if they saw us, those moths flew at one accord at us and, of course, crashed into the wire mesh. They begin fluttering and flapping and even slamming themselves onto the wire mesh, as if they were clawing their way out to get us. They flung themselves again and again at the wire mesh, trying to tear it open. A scream of terror broke from my throat……..


	3. Part 3

**Last part, thank you for reading!!**

KND:

Operation: Moth

Part 3

"Well, well, well. Looks like some of my honored guest have escaped!" a voice, a frightening voice said from behind us. Mothmaster stood there, just behind us, with a grin on his wicked insect face. I felt Nigel's hand tightening its grip on mine.

"You won't get away with this, Mothmaster, the KND won't let you!" Nigel said the same thing he would say to every villain we met.

"Hah! I'll have the entire KND as my prisoners one I have created enough mutant moths and butterflies to take over the world!" mocked Mothmaster with a laugh. "No one can stop me or my insects by then!"

"You…….you're insane!" I found myself yelling at him, "What's wrong with people killing insects anyway? Sure, moths and butterflies are harmless, but what about harmful insects, like mosquitoes and cockroach and flies? We simply _have_ to kill them! And even if we don't, animals such as lizards and frogs will…..'

"Silence, girl! What do little youngsters like you know about nature anyway?!" Mothmaster, who seemed to be losing his temper, interrupted me. "I do not bother much about _those_ insects! Even though it is unfair for them to be killed by humans. But the insects I am concerned about are these poor, helpless butterflies and moths. That is why I have mutated them, so that they may defend themselves with their newfound strength and size! So why don't I give you two a little sample?" he was once again grinning wickedly, then, he turned to face the corridor behind him and bawled, "Mutant moths and butterflies, get them!!"

There came a fluttering noise from down the corridor, which grew louder and louder like a wave coming closer and closer to the shore. The moths behind the wire mesh begin slamming themselves even harder onto the wire mesh. I let out a cry of dismay as the metal wires slowly fell apart and Nigel got ready to bolt for it.

The fluttering sound was so close that it sounded like the flapping of wings of monstrous birds. In the dim light, we saw silhouettes of hundreds, maybe thousands of giant butterflies and moths charging straight at us! There was an ear-shattering crash as the entire wire mesh beside us collapsed. I broke out into hysteria and begin to shriek at the top of my lungs.

"RUN!!" yelled Nigel. And the next moment we were running down the dimly-lit corridor as fast as we possibly could run. Nigel was ahead of me, tugging at my hand, urging me to run faster. I was already tripping over my own feet to catch up with him.

The corridor turned sharply to the left, and right behind that corner was another metal door. Nigel stopped aburtly, and I almost knocked into him. Without wasting even a second, he slid the door open, dragged me into the room behind is, then he turned and slammed the door shut. We both slumped against the door, panting like Olympic runners. I was still in my hysteria fit and almost lost my mind.

'What are we going to do!? What are we going to do!?" I shrieked hysterically, wringing my arms about wildly, "We're gonna die! We're so gonna die!! Those things will kill us and we have nowhere to run and……."

"Darrel," said Nigel, turning to face me, "Calm down, Darrel!"

"I _can't_ calm down! And I _won't_!!" I screamed at him, "There's a whole flock of killer moths and butterflies trying to get us and a human-insect thing who wants revenge and you're asking me to……."

"Darrel!! Will you just _shut up_ and _calm down_?!" Nigel shouted furiously at me, I was stunned. "Yes, I _know_ there is a flock of mutant moths and butterflies as well as an insane insect-human hybrid out there and that we have nowhere to escape. And yes, I _know_ you are afraid of moths and butterflies but you must _calm down_!" he took hold of my shoulders and shook me hard.

I gasped as Nigel's angry words and shaking knocked the sense into me, I stared at him in terror and confusion. Nigel could be very frightening when he lost his temper, and I was always terrified of that fiery flash in his eyes.

"But……you don't understand….." I uttered weakly.

"I _do_ understand." Said Nigel in a gentler voice, releasing his grip on my shoulders, "Mind you, I, too, am afraid of those insects, especially when they are giant-sized like the ones out there. But we must keep calm and think of a plan. It's no use freaking out, Darrel, it will only make the situation worst."

I nodded blankly, still staring at Nigel in fear and still panting painfully. Nigel turned away from me and walked towards the metal door, and stared at it thoughtfully. I looked around me, we were in a room that was full of greenery. There were many potted plants here and there and also a few hanging down from the ceiling, making the room look like a plant nursery. There were some wooden stands in the room that looked like bird feeders, fresh fruit like papayas and bananas were laid on top of them. A few fans were attached to the wall, those fans sprayed a very fine spray of cooling water droplets along with the wind that was blown out of their propellers. There were (thank goodness) no moths or butterflies in the room.

"This must be where Mothmaster kept his moths and butterflies that were not yet mutated." I said to Nigel, trying to break the tension and trying to show that I was no longer in hysterics, "I remember someone telling me that butterfly farms have stands with fruit on it for the butterflies to feed on, and they also use water-spray fans to cool the air."

Nigel didn't seem to be listening, he was busy bolting the metal door with a few large bolts he had found on the door. When he finished sliding the last one of those heavy metal bolts home, he turned to me and said, "I see. Anyway, Mothmaster and his army of mutant insects will be breaking down the door and getting at us very soon. So we'd better think of something fast!"

"Hmph, you were right about them being vile, hungry creatures……" I murmured.

A loud crash sounded at the other side of the door, and the door shook violently. My heart almost jumped right out of my body. Mothmaster and his moths and butterflies were going to break down the door! A few more loud crashes sounded and one of the bolts loosened and fell off the door with a clang.

I almost fainted in horror, we were goners if that door was broken down. I frantically begin to think back on my horrible experience with those insects, searching through my memories for an idea on how to stop them. My eyes glanced quickly around the room, and I saw a large black pipe running along one of the walls, smaller pipes that were connected to it led towards the water-spray fans. Those pipes must be used to send water to the fans. Just then, right after that thought, an idea struck me.

"Water!" I yelled, Nigel looked at me in a puzzled way, "Moths and butterflies hate water! It spoils their wings and even kills them!" I was yelling and pointing at that thick black pipe at the wall. Nigel glanced at the pipe, and looked back at me, his eyes wide and shining.

"Great idea, Darrel!" he said, I blushed, 'And I have a plan. I will go and stand by at the pipe, while you stand just in front of me, facing the door. As soon as Mothmaster and all his nasty mutant insects come in, I'll tell you to duck out of the way, and I'll laser that pipe open and send a spray of water at them! Hopefully we can stop them this way."

"So, you want me to become bait?" I asked him, slightly shocked at his suggestion.

"Well….erm…yeah." Nigel seemed to hesitate, "But look Darrel, you have to trust me, I promise I won't let anything happen to you." He was looking at me out of stern sapphire eyes, "I promise."

A few more loud slams sounded at the door, and I was petrified to see that only one bolt was left intact on the door, and it was already beginning to loosen!

"I'll do it." I finally said, my voice sounding like a wobbling jelly. Nigel smiled at me and rushed over to the pipe, knocking over a wooden stand as he went. He reached into his pocket, "Drat!" he said, "My laser was destroyed by that mutant butterfly! I completely forgotten about that!"

"You can use mine." I suggested, taking out my laser from my belt where I hung my weapons. I handed it over to him, and he smiled again as he took it.

"Thanks!" he said, "Now, get ready!"

I turned to face the door, my hands were cold and shaking, and I desperately hoped that I wouldn't break into hysteria again. There was another crash, the last bolt fell off. Then the door was slid open with a deafening roar, and I saw Mothmaster, with his disgusting insect-head and his monstrous army behind him. He, too, saw me, and commanded to his army of mutant insects, 'There they are! Get them!"

The colorful stream of giant insects flew into the door and straight at me, I found that I had stopped breathing. "Duck outta the way!!" yelled Nigel from behind me, and I ducked, jumping to one side flat onto my face and causing a large pot with a huge plant in it to crash onto the floor.

I then heard the sound of gushing water, and felt a spray of water on my back. I got up from the ground and was rather amused to see Nigel holding up the pipe that he had lasered into half. Water was gushing strongly out of the pipe that he held up, and he was aiming the water at any one of those vile insects that even dared to fly close. He was almost blown backwards by the intense force of the water, but as I said before he must have inherited some powers from his Grandfather and he could control the water spray quite well.

One by one those horrible mutant insects fell, and they flopped onto the floor with a puddle of water around them, dead. Mothmaster had also onto the floor, obviously water weakened him, but it did not kill him. He was dragging himself towards us, while wailing in despair, "My pets! My dear, precious babies!! No! No!!"

Nigel mescheviously aimed the water at him, he was almost blown away and he cried out, gasping and spluttering, "No!! Stop!! Please!! Water kills me!!"

Nigel lowered the pipe at once, for he had no intention of killing Mothmaster. And it was a good thing that he found a tap-like switch on the pipe and switched off the water, or the entire room would have been flooded. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator, making sure that all the mutant insects were dead and that Mothmaster couldn't attack us, then he dialed something on the gadget and said to the person on the screen, "This is Numbuh 1 of Sector V. We need a few troops from the Moonbase to rescue some prisoners and also to pick up a villain. I'll send the coordinates of my position to you. And oh," I saw him grin suddenly, "Remember to bring some water guns along, thank you.'

It was finally over. The remaining mutant moths and butterflies had been killed and gotten rid of, the prisoners in the cocoons were freed, and Mothmaster was taken away to be locked up in the KND Arctic Prison. I was standing in the cocoon room, watching KND medic members making sure that the prisoners were all right and reviving some people who had fainted because too much of their energy was sucked out. The rest of the members from Sector V and Sector MY still looked rather dazed and disoriented. I could see Nigel talking to Rachel, and putting one arm around her. She looked weak and still rather dazed but there was a weak smile on her face as she looked into Nigel's eyes.

A little pang of jealousy struck my heart, but I didn't want to show it. Anyway, I already spent a rather long time with him while trying to stop Mothmaster. And I even got to hold his hand! A tiny smile of delight crept onto my face when I thought of that.

Presently, Hoagie came up to me. He looked much better and the color had already returned to his cheeks.

" So, Numbuh 419." He said, calling me by my codename, "How was your adventure with Numbuh 1?" he was grinning mischievously, but he seemed to genuinely want to know what I thought of that experience.

"Well, it was okay, I can't really call it an adventure, though, it was more like being in a horror movie." I replied.

"So, you're still afraid of moths…..and butterflies?"

"Yeah, I just can't get over my phobia……" I said with a sigh. Hoagie just smiled. My eyes were still glued onto Nigel, who was still holding onto Rachel and was still talking to her.

"But still, you know." I said, "I guess having a phobia is okay, as long as you have a person who shares the same phobia and is willing to go through that fear with you….." Hoagie looked at me and grinned once again, for he knew who I was talking about…….

And yes, I was talking about the boy of my dreams…….

END TRANSMISSION


End file.
